play video its vs its
Commonly Confused

Its vs. It's

Some practical guidance, and interesting history, about a common mistake.


Some practical guidance, and interesting history, about a common mistake.

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play video its vs its
Its vs. It's

 

Some practical guidance, and interesting history, about a common mistake.

play serenity carr next to an illustration of a refrigerator with the letter d in it
Why is there a 'd' in 'fridge' but not in 'refrigerator'?

 

Thawing one of the mysteries of English

play video schwa
The Schwa

 

The most common vowel sound in English causes many spelling problems.

play ismo merriam webster tip
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "People Tipping"

 

Comedian ISMO on the complexities of the word 'tip'

play video websters video of 1864
Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

play emily-brewster-with-the-words-effect-affect-on-screen
How to Remember 'Affect' and 'Effect'

 

A simple way to keep them apart. (Most of the time.)

play video how a word gets into the dicionary
How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.